Agathe Marimbert designs this Parisian apartment with a gaze shaped by Le Corbusier’s Villa La Roche and the cinematic universe of Wes Anderson

On the edge between Paris’s 5th and 13th arrondissements, a 1970s residential building becomes the setting for a project that marks a turning point in the career of architect Agathe Marimbert. The complete renovation of this 90 m² apartment redefines domestic experience through colour, light and a more fluid spatial organisation, without altering the essential structure of the dwelling. Here, interior architecture ceases to be a backdrop and becomes the core of the narrative.

“It’s the first time colour has taken on such a central role in one of my projects,” explains the architect. The commission offered favourable conditions: a generous layout, abundant natural light and few structural constraints. “This type of apartment presents few limitations and allows the space to be worked in a modular way, bringing light into the corridors,” she notes. The intervention begins with a careful reading of the existing space, understanding its potential not as something to be radically transformed, but as a foundation from which to design.

As is customary in her studio, the project begins with the drawing of the plan. The organisation follows a clear spatial sequence, conceived to enhance circulation and visual continuity. Marimbert introduces new openings and sliding glass doors that allow light to flow uninterrupted throughout the apartment. “We created openings to make circulation more fluid and to bring clarity to the entire apartment,” she explains. At the same time, a number of strategic decisions helped optimise the budget: “We kept the location of the wet areas in order to allocate resources elsewhere. The kitchen, although remaining in its original position, has been completely opened towards the entrance.”

Beyond the spatial reorganisation, the project is structured around a conscious reflection on colour. For each intervention, the architect develops a moodboard that acts as a guiding thread. In this case, the references were clear: the Maison La Roche by Le Corbusier, for its use of chromatic planes, and the cinematic universe of Wes Anderson, for its narrative strength and pop aesthetic. “The clients wanted to explore colour without restraint. It’s unusual, and that’s precisely what makes the project so interesting,” she points out.

The result is an apartment in which each room finds its own chromatic identity without losing overall coherence. In the living areas, blue engages in dialogue with a terracotta pink; in the bathroom, a powdery pink is paired with chocolate tones, creating an immersive and unconventional atmosphere. The only exception is the main bedroom, conceived within a neutral palette, almost as a space of calm. There, a large embroidered curtain by artist Sarah Espeute introduces a more delicate, quieter texture that balances the whole.

This project represents a conscious shift in Marimbert’s practice. “Until now, I worked with a fairly restrained palette: wood, brushed stainless steel, natural tones, with colour used very sparingly,” she acknowledges. “Today, I am opening up more to colour and to interventions that feel bolder and more creative.” Among her references, she cites Marion Mailaender for her consistently renewed approach to interior design.

For the architect, beauty does not lie solely in formal perfection. “Beauty is about telling a story, not just creating a beautiful project. It’s also about having fun through interior architecture,” she states. In contrast to neutral interiors that are correct yet predictable, this apartment proposes another path: a domestic architecture that embraces risk, builds character and understands colour as both a spatial and narrative tool.

“In praise of colour” is not only the title of this project, but the declaration of a new chapter. A freer, more expressive architecture that, without relinquishing technical rigour, allows itself to step beyond convention in order to explore new ways of living.

Project: Elogio del color.
Location: Paris V.

Surface area: 90 m²
Completed: 2025.
Author: Agathe Marimbert.
Styling: Collected Studio.
Photography: Oracle.

Agathe Marimbert

Founded in 2016, Agathe Marimbert Architecte develops a practice rooted in architecture and interior design in which renovation becomes a field of exploration, where existing structures and contemporary interventions enter into a natural dialogue. Based in Paris, the architect works with both private and professional clients, maintaining a constant attention to use, materiality and the quality of spaces that support everyday life.

Trained at the Écoles Nationales Supérieures d’Architecture of Lyon and Grenoble, and enriched by an academic experience in southern Brazil, Agathe Marimbert has developed an open and attentive perspective, shaped by context and by different cultures of inhabitation. Before founding her own studio, she built her professional career within leading Paris-based practices, contributing to projects of varied scales and programmes, from public competitions to commercial spaces. This experience fostered a precise understanding of both architectural rigour and the spatial narrative of interiors.

This plural background naturally guides her practice towards renovation, understood as a fertile ground where existing constraints are transformed into project material. Convinced that there are no minor commissions, she advocates for an architecture capable of expressing a clear and coherent intention at any scale, always balancing functionality with emotion.

Drawing occupies a central place in her creative process. More than a preliminary gesture, it is a tool for thinking and dialogue, refined step by step until construction, when the concept takes physical form and space begins to articulate its own narrative. Her architecture embraces limitations as a point of departure, generating projects that are distinctive, playful and serene, where every decision responds to a precise intention.

The relationship with the client is an essential part of this process. Fully integrated into the creative journey, a dynamic of trust and attentive listening is established, leading to honest and enduring projects. In the work of Agathe Marimbert, architecture shapes atmospheres where everyday life finds its place with naturalness, sensitivity and a discreet yet deeply contemporary elegance.

Project by Agathe Marimbert